The Four Children
by yummytangerines3689
Summary: This is an alternate view on The Boxcar Children. Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny are character that belong to Gertrude Chandler Warner. Hayden and Anna are a made up couple.
1. Chapter 1

The four children came late in the night to Hayden and Anna. They were young, but there was a hollow look that did not belong in the eyes of children.

Hayden knelt down to meet the eyes of the littlest two. He noticed how heavily they leaned on the oldest girl. "Hi, my name is Hayden. What are yours?" he asked.

The littlest two looked up at their oldest sister who nodded.

"My name's Benny. I'm six," responded the littlest of them all. He had a lisp due to the missing front top teeth in his mouth. Hayden smiled at Benny before turning to the girl that stood beside the lisping little boy.

"Violet." It was a breathy answer and just that seemed to take all the energy out of her.

Hayden smiled before standing to put an arm around his wife. His wife was a very kind woman and the moment she spoke, all the children liked her.

"And we would also like to know your names," she told the older two with a gentle smile that made her eyes glow like candles on a birthday cake that illuminated a dark kitchen. Soft.

The older two look at each other before turning to the couple before them.

"I'm Henry. I'm fourteen," the oldest tells the couple.

The oldest girl smiles shyly at the couple, "I'm Jessie and I'm twelve."

Both adults smile. "Welcome to our family," Hayden tells them.

Anna reaches down for Violet and Benny's hands. She does not take them. She waits for them to take hers. Her heart skips a beat when they slip their hands into hers. She did not know how much they trusted her at this moment but it was comforting to know they trusted her enough to hold her hands. Anna then turns to Henry and Jessie, eyes beckoning them to follow. Anna takes a step forwards. She takes another one. The four children follow and Anna already loves them. The five of them go off to see the children's rooms.

Hayden stays behind to talk with the social worker. "What happened."

The social worker gives Hayden a sad smile, "They were abused by their father who was a drug addict and neglected by their alcoholic mother. The oldest found them in the master bedroom dead. Overdoes and alcohol poisoning"

Hayden grits his teeth. _How could anyone treat these children that way?_ He looks into the social workers eyes, "We'll take care of them."

The social worker smiles at him before taking her leave. Hayden closes the door softly behind her and goes off to find his wife and the children. He finds her showing Jessie and Violet the wardrobe of clothes he and his wife prepared hours before after they had received the social workers call. He sees Violet once again leaning heavily against Jessie.

Anna notices him come into the room. She hands the pajamas to Jessie, "The bathroom is down the hall. Get ready for bed and I'll come tuck the two of you in."

Jessie begins to move but Violet doesn't. Violet looks up at Jessie with worn eyes. Jessie smiles sympathetically and picks up the ten-year-old with ease. She moves the both of them to the bathroom. Hayden and Anna stare after them.

"We have to set up and appointment for them to visit the doctors," Hayden says and Anna agrees.

"Let's go check on the boys." Anna says.

The couple travel to the room beside the girls to find the two boys on the floor. Benny has discovered the blocks by the window sill and he was building a tower with them. Henry sat beside Benny, adding a block or two occasionally. Anna goes over to the boys drawer and opens the top drawer. She pulls out a pair of pajamas with little lions all over. She kneels down and calls out to Benny, "Look Benny. Little lions just for you." Benny looks towards Henry. It was as if he were searching for confirmation that the woman who was handing him the pajamas was safe to be around. Henry nods and the little boy pushes himself to his feet with slight difficulty before he slowly moves towards Anna. She hands him the pajamas and immediately Benny's face lights up. The little lions on his new pajamas danced all over the green fabric. He showed his older brother.

"Look, Henry! My own little lions!" Benny cries in a delighted voice.

Anna and Hayden look at each other with relief spreading across their faces. So far, only Violet seemed too exhausted. They don't spend too much time dwindling on the matter because Henry needed some attention and love so Anna takes out the pajamas she and her husband picked out for Henry and hands them to Hayden. Hayden takes them and goes over to Henry. Hayden kneels beside the sitting boy.

"Here are your own pajamas. They're the softest things you'll ever feel," Hayden tells Henry, holding out the neatly folded pajamas for Henry to feel.

Henry feels them and his eyes widen, "You're for real. I've never had pajamas like these." He takes the pajamas from Hayden, "Thank you," he says as he looks from Hayden to Anna. They smile at Henry.

"Why don't you and Benny go get changed. The girls should be done and in their room. Hayden and I will come tuck the both of you in later," Anna says.

Henry nods and takes Benny's hand on the way out. The little boy smiles at the couple before turning around to catch up with his older brother.

In the hallway, the two boys run into their sisters. Henry bends down to kiss Violets forehead, "Goodnight, baby girl," he croons. He stands up to smile at Jessie and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"G'night Vi. G'night Jess," Benny says while bouncing on his toes.

Jessie kisses Benny's head, "Goodnight, Benny." She stands from her stoops to bid Henry a goodnight and walks off towards her room with Violet in tow.

"Goodnight, Henry. 'Night, Benny," she says over her shoulder before stumbling after Jessie. Jessie grips her hand tighter.

The girls walk into their room to find Anna and Hayden sitting on Violet's bed. Jessie leads Violet all the way to her bed and doesn't let go of her hand until the little girl was sitting. Jessie kisses her crown, "See, they're not like Mommy and Daddy. It's alright now." Violet nods and lays down. Jessie moves to crawl under her own covers and watches as Hayden and Anna pepper Violet with kisses and straighten her covers. They both kiss the little girl with such tenderness that Jessie knows they're safe now. The couple then move to sit on either side of Jessie. They both kiss her fore head.

"We love you," Hayden tells her.

Anna squeezes Jessie's knee, "We really do."

And Jessie believes them, "I believe you."

Hayden and Anna get up to leave and before they turn off the lights and move onto the boys room they bid them another goodnight and tell them again that they love them.

They find the boys by the blocks again and upon noticing them, Henry sits up straighter, "Are they in bed?" he asks.

Anna hold out her hand to her and nods, "Yes, now it's your turns to be tucked in."

Henry takes her hand and lets her pull him to his feet. Benny holds his arms up. Henry picks up the little boy and settles him onto the bed. Henry kisses Benny's forehead, "Goodnight, little boy. They'll tuck you in tonight and it'll be okay."

Benny nods because he really does believe Henry. The couple sits down on Benny's bed and they lift the cover for the little boy who crawls under gratefully. Henry watches the couple from his own bed and lets himself loosen up a bit. He begins to gain a little more trust towards the adults at handling his younger brother and sisters. And when they come over to tuck him in and kiss him and to tell him that they love him, he lets his guard down for once to take in the love they have to offer.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Hayden wakes up with a warmth at his side and he smiles. Fives years since he had met Anna, he still loves waking up with her curled up against him. Hayden gets up on one elbow to peer into her face, "Anna," he calls softly. There's no response so he pats her cheek a little harder, "Anna, wake up."

A groan, "Early..." Anna mumbles.

Hayden chuckles, "Yes, its early."

The couple smile at each other and Anna loops an arm around Hayden, beckoning him to lean down into her lips, "Love you," she tells him.

They get out of bed in their pajamas, wanting to show the children a proper Saturday morning with a family. It was supposed to be slow. No one had to rush to go anywhere. They could make breakfast in the kitchen together. They could do as they please together without the hassle of getting dressed for a long day. Hayden and Anna stop by the boys room first this time. Tiptoeing in, the couple splits up.

Anna moves to sit on the edge of Henry's bed while Hayden sinks down on Benny's.

"Wake up, beautiful boy," Anna croons. She run brushes a strand of hair away from Henry's face. They boy slowly opens his eyes. He smiles, "Good morning, Anna."

Laughter erupts from the other side of the room and it catches both Henry and Anna's attention. They see Hayden tickling Benny who is squealing with laughter.

"Tickle monster!" Benny cries with delight. Hayden scoops the little boy into his arms, a grin on his face. Both their faces are rosy from laughter.

Henry sits up in this bed and Anna runs a hand up and down the boys back, encouraging him out of his drowsiness.

"G'morning, Hayden," Henry mumbles while rubbing his eyes. A faint smile stretched across his face.

Hayden feels his heart melt at the oldest boy who was only last night asking if his younger sisters were in bed yet. Today, he looked so much younger.

"Henry, Anna!" greets Benny.

Henry holds out his arms towards Benny. Benny slides out of Hayden's lap to fling himself into Henry's waiting arms. Henry catches his younger brother and kisses his forehead, "Do you like it here?"

Benny nods fervently, "I never want to leave."

Henry squeezes his brother, "I don't either."

Anna puts her arms around the brothers, "Let me tell you this," she begins. Both boys look up at her. "Would you like to live with us forever?" A sincere smile shone on her face. Both boys bury their faces into her shoulders.

"Yes, yes, yes," they chant through tears.

Hayden claps his hands together once. It catches everyone's attention. He grins at them, "We can't only tell the boys, can we?"

Henry and Benny scramble out of bed to get the girls. The adults follow close behind.

"Wake up!" Benny calls.

Henry shakes at Jessie who startles away, "Don't touch them!" she yells.

Henry hugs her to his chest, "Jessie, we're safe, We're not there anymore. They can't hurt us anymore," he says. Jessie relaxes into his arms. Henry kisses her hair, "We've got something to tell you and Vi."

Sobbing comes from across the room. The two older children whip their heads towards the opposite side of the room, ready to punch and kick anyone who was hurting the littlest two, but the scene before them has them instantly relaxing. Violet sat in Hayden's arms with her face buried in the crook of his neck. Her limbs hung limp but her sobs came out strong. Benny jumped on her bed, a large grin on his face, "It's true. It's true" he repeats over and over.

Jessie is confused, "What's true?" she demands, wanting to be let in on the news that had everyone so happy.

"We found our forever home," Henry whispers into her hair.

Jessie's eyes widen, "Wha?... F... for real?" she stutters, shock written across her face.

Anna smiles at her. She catches Benny mid jump and lowers him to the ground to avoid him falling off the edge before she went over to sit down beside Jessie. Anna cups Jessie's cheek and Henry releases his grip on his sister. Jessie searches Anna's eyes frantically for confirmation. Anna kisses her forehead, "For real."

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," Jessie repeats over and over again as Anna hugs her close.

The new found family make their way into the kitchen after everyone had brushed their teeth.

"Pancakes?" Hayden prompts.

"Pancakes!" Benny cheers.

Henry and Jessie smile at the little boy and then turn to prompt an answer out of Violet. Violet smiles with a slight pant passing between to top and bottom row of her teeth. The older two pull the little girl against them before turning to face the couple.

"Pancakes!" they confirm.

Violet and Benny are standing on chairs with their older siblings behind them. The four children are stirring batter while Hayden and Anna diced up strawberries and picked out the good blueberries.

"Remember, nice and fluffy," Anna reminds them from her dicing.

"We remember," comes four responses in unison.

Hayden bursts out laughing. It was a low rumble that the children fell in love with at that very moment.

When all the fruit had been washed and dices, the adults peered over the shoulders of the children. The batter looked perfect.

"Perfect, children," praised Anna. She gets four beaming faces in return. Hayden busies himself with pouring the batter onto a pan he had begun to heat while the children stirred the batter, "Wash your hands," he tells the children. He had seen the batter that somehow wound up on their hands even though they were stirring with spoons. The four children scramble off to the bathroom. The adults watch after them. They notice once again how tired Violet seemed. They way she clutched both Henry and Jessie's hands and how Henry and Jessie both had to visibly support the little girl made the couple so angry. They were children. They were supposed to be healthy children and yet Violet seemed so weak. The other children seemed fine aside from being a little too thin but Violet was weak.

Hayden turned back to flipping pancakes, "We have to set up an appointment for them to visit the doctors soon," he says to his wife.

Anna turns to kiss Hayden's cheek, "Not today though,"

Hayden couldn't agree with that statement any more, "Not today."

When the children return from the bathroom, they were all bright with laughter.

"Breakfast is ready!" Anna chirps and it brings the children out of their chatter. They seen the kitchen table. They notice how polished the wood was. They see the plates. They notice how there was no cracks in them and they were clean. They see the pancakes. There was enough for them and even extra in the middle of the table. The chairs were matching and there were actually forks. Benny becomes giddy. Henry leans Violet against Jessie before letting go of her hand to swing Benny into a chair at the sides of the table.

"Thank you, Hayden! Thank you, Anna!" the little boy cries.

Hayden and Anna smile at the little boy, "You're welcome" they tell him in unison and Benny breaks out laughing. "You both said it at the same time," he tells them. Hayden and Anna can't help but smother the little boy with kisses. Across from the couple smothering the little boy with kisses, Jessie and Henry were helping Violet climb into her chair. She's pale but a smile still danced on her face, When Violet was settled, Henry guides Jessie into a chair before sitting down himself.

And then four children look into the eyes of Anna and Hayden. Four still children with wide eyes silently pleading for the two adults to sit down with them and to begin the meal with them so they wouldn't have to eat a cold meal in a large room with no one to tell them to 'eat slower' or 'don't talk with your mouth full' or 'have some more'. The adults comply with the silent request, both of them going to either head of the table so that they can have easier access to help the four children if they needed it at any time. And it was a struggle.

Benny asked for the expiration date of the ingredients of the pancakes. It was only then when Hayden and Anna showed him all the dates to the flour and sugar and the baking soda that Benny relaxed. Henry made sure all his younger siblings were eating before he took a bite and even then he had to make sure Violet was taking at least a few bites. He coaxed her every now and then and even got out of his seat to fork a few pieces into her mouth. Jessie continuously told Benny how delicious these pancakes were while she ate her own to encourage her little brother out of his fear of eating spoiled food that caused many stomach aches in all of them in the past. Violet sat in her chair while she chewed each bite with tears sitting in the corners of her eyes. Hayden and Anna watched the children and when they felt their hearts shatter they leaped into action. Hayden picked up Violet from her chair and put a hand on Henry's shoulder and took them out of the kitchen to the living room. He sat them on the sofa and went to carry Benny in. Anna followed with her arm around Jessie's shoulder. The adults bring in the plates of pancakes and the children take their respective plates. The adults go back into the kitchen to bring in their own plates and the forks before sitting on either ends of the row of children. The rest of breakfast became and easier affair now that both adults had access to all four children and after a lot of encouragement and coaxing, all the children finished eating.


End file.
